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After back-to-back 4-13 seasons, the over/under for wins at the FanDuel.com Sportsbook has the Patriots at -550 to go over 5.5 wins, -160 to go over 7.5 and -210 to go under 9.5. They are tied for 21st among all 32 teams to reach the Super Bowl and are the odds-on favorite to finish 2nd behind the Bills in the AFC East. A new head coach, two new coordinators, and 11 draft picks will all effect the outcome.
For three decades, the New England Patriots were not only a regular presence in the NFL Playoffs, but a threat to win it all. The success exploded under Tom Brady at QB, but it started in 1996 behind Drew Bledsoe and Curtis Martin.
Bledsoe's fourth season was actually the first season that he threw more TD passes than interceptions (27-15) as he helped guide the team to an 11-5 regular season finish and a first-place finish in the AFC East.
Curtis Martin was in his sophomore season at running back and collected 1,152 yards with 14 TD's, and an additional 3 scores via the passing game.
The 1996 season saw New England reach the Super Bowl for the first time since their 46-10 loss to 'da Bears' in the 1985 season.
When Bledsoe was seriously injured against the New York Jets in the second game of the 2001 season, the team turned to Brady. But Bledsoe still had one more shining moment when he replaced a wobbly Brady in the AFC Championship game against Pittsburgh and was instrumental in securing the 24-17 upset. The Pats would go on to their first of three Super Bowl victories in a four-year span.
Another one wouldn't happen until 2014, though they played in five AFC Championship games and lost a pair of Super Bowls to Eli Manning and the New York Giants. The Pats followed the 2014 win with two more in even years, 2016 and 2018.
Brady's last year in 2019 saw a quick exit from the playoffs with a Wild Card loss to the Tennessee Titans and he used his free agent status to go south and sign with the Tampa Bay Bucs where he led them to victory in the Super Bowl that very first year with three postseason road wins at Washington, New Orleans and Green Bay before getting Kansas City at home for Super Bowl LV.
Since Brady's from Foxborough, the Pats have one playoff appearance which came in 2021 in a humiliating 47-17 Wild Card loss at the rival Buffalo Bills.
Bill Belichick, who coached the team since 2000, stunned a lot of people this past winter when he opted to do something he's never done - coach a college team. Belichick was named the new head coach at North Carolina on December 11, 2024.
That left Eliot Wolf as the de facto general manager, though his title is Executive Vice President of Player Personnel. Wolf joined the club in 2020 after two seasons as the assistant GM in Cleveland and fourteen years in Green Bay.
Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was named as Belichick's successor on January 13. Vrabel was 54-45 in six seasons with Tennessee, though that record was diminished with losing marks in his last two seasons. Vrabel also had a 2-3 record in the playoffs, but the two sins came in his second season (2019) when the Titans fell to Kansas City in the AFC Championship game.
Josh McDaniels returns for a third stint as the OC. He served the club previously as personnel assistant (2001), defensive assistant (2002-03), QB Coach (2004-05), and OC and QB Coach (2006-08). His first departure sent him to Denver as head coach for two seasons (2009-10) where we went 11-17 and was fired after 12 games of the second campaign. He then moved on to the Rams as OC and QB coach in 2011 and was back at New England in 2012, reprising his role as OC and QB Coach for ten seasons. He left in 2022 for a second shot at Head Coach, but was 9-16 and was canned after just 8 games of the second season.
Terrell Williams brings his extensive career to New England as a masterful defensive coordinator over 25 seasons. He was the defensive line coach for all 6 seasons of Vrabel's head coaching tenure with the Titans/
2024 Records: 4-13 regular season, 2-4 AFC East, 3-9 vs. AFC, 1-4 vs. NFC
2025 Super Bowl FanDuel odds: +6000, Tied for No. 21 of all 32 teams
2025 AFC East Champion odds: +500, No. 2 of 4
General Manager: Eliot Wolf (2025), technically Exec VP Player Personnel
Head Coach: Mike Vrabel (2025)
Offensive Coordinator: Josh McDaniels (2025)
Defensive Coordinator: Terrell Williams (2025)
Based on their opponents' win percentage in 2024 of .429, New England's schedule is the third easiest of all 32 teams in 2025. Aside from the six divisional home and away games, New England will face the AFC North teams (Steelers, Bengals, Browns and Ravens) and the NFC South teams (Bucs, Falcons, Saints and Panthers), as well as the Raiders (AFC West), the Titans (AFC South) and the NY Giants (NFC East).
9/7 Raiders
9/14 at Dolphins
9/21 Steelers
9/28 Panthers
10/5 at Bills
10/12 at Saints
10/19 at Titans
10/26 Browns
11/2 Falcons
11/9 at Bucs
11/13 Jets (TNF)
11/23 at Bengals
12/1 Giants (MNF)
12/7 BYE
12/14 Bills
12/21 at Ravens
12/28 at Jets
Week 18: Dolphins (Date TBD)
Eleven players were drafted by New England in April with LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell taken with the fourth over-all pick. The Patriots also selected Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson (rd. 2, pick 38), Washington State WR Kyle Williams (rd. 3, pick 69), Georgia C Jared Wilson (rd. 3, pick 95), and Cal safety Craig Woodson (rd. 4, pick 106), and Florida State DT Joshua Farmer (rd. 4, pick 137).
The team then went back to LSU for their 7th pick when they nabbed LSU Edge rusher Bradyn Swinson (rd. 5, pick 146). The 8th through 11 choices were Miami kicker Andres Borregales (rd, 6, pick 182), Missouri OT Marcus Bryant (rd. 7, pick 220), Vanderbilt LS Julian Ashby (rd. 7, pick 251) and Memphis DB Kobee Minor (rd. 7, pick 257).
This article is part of a series that includes similar articles regarding these NFL teams:
AFC East: Buffalo, Miami, New England
AFC North: Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh
AFC South: Jacksonville, Tennessee
AFC West: Las Vegas, Los Angeles Chargers
NFC East: Dallas, NY Giants, Philadelphia
NFC North: Green Bay
NFC South: Atlanta
NFC West: Arizona, Tampa Bay